From January 2020, Robert Kubinsky, who has been working for the company for 8 years, will step into the CEO shoes to continue delivering the second stage of Agora Budapest in Hungary.

The most active logistics developer in Hungary plans to expand its portfolio by 100-150 thousand sqm every ear. Rudolf Nemes, Country Manager of CTP Hungary talked to Property Forum about the ongoing changes on the Hungarian logistics market.

Balance Hall, a 16,000-sqm office building with a "Very Good" BREEAM certification, has been delivered in early December 2019 on Budapest's Váci Corridor. With this new addition, the Balance Office Park office complex has grown to nearly 35,000 sqm. CPI group reported an over 75% occupancy rate upon delivery, based on already signed contracts.

Construction of the Pillar office building has begun in the Váci Road office corridor area of Budapest. The Class A office building of four blocks is being developed by GTC and will be occupied by ExxonMobil in H1 2022. The office building will contain a two-level underground garage, a café, a restaurant, a nursery, a fitness centre. a conference room and other service facilities. Pillar will have a LEED Gold sustainability certificate. The architectural plans for the asymmetrical and unique building with its wavering forms were designed by the ZDA-Zoboki Design & Architecture.

Consulting company Litwiniuk Property has started providing rental / commercialization services and sales of Class A office buildings, logistics parks and shopping centres in Hungary.

Triholding Group has acquired a historical building in downtown Budapest. Alexander Court, which has an NLA of 1,000 sqm, can be transformed into a modern office building or a hotel.

S Immo Hungary closed a major deal by selling one of its Budapest office buildings. The transaction was conducted after a longer negotiation period. Twin Office Center was part of the company’s portfolio for 14 years, operating with 100% occupancy. Neither the name of the buyer nor the transaction price has been disclosed.

With the checkout of the last guest on 4 November 2019 a new era has started in the story of the downtown building which in the past 20 years was known as the four-star Starlight Suiten Hotel Budapest. The new Mamaison Hotel will open its gates expectedly in mid-summer 2020. CPIPG also announced plans for a brand new 3-star property (located between the ex-Starlight and the Four Seasons Gresham Palace.

According to the latest RICS Commercial Property Monitor, occupier and investment sentiment remains positive across main CEE markets, even though the Czech Republic has posted its most subdued set of readings in four years. In many countries, demand for retail assets fell on both the occupier and investment sides of the market. Based on rental and capital value projections, secondary retail is visibly suffering in Austria, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.

There’s a lot of capital targeting real estate in Central & Eastern Europe but finding the right investment product remains a huge challenge. Panellists of the CEE investment panel at Portfolio Property Investment Forum 2019 in Budapest discussed the risks investors in the region need to keep in mind.